obstruct understanding

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "obstruct understanding" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it when discussing barriers or difficulties that prevent clear comprehension of information or concepts. Example: "The complex jargon used in the report may obstruct understanding for those not familiar with the subject matter."

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

News & Media

Formal & Business

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

1 human-written examples

Regarding knowledge about evolution, we included two types of questions: those that can be easily answered with some basic exposure (e.g., tree thinking; Baum et al. 2005; the role of mutation; Garvin-Doxas and Klymkowsky 2008) and those that appear to reflect common and persistent misconceptions that obstruct understanding (e.g., Alters and Nelson 2002; Evans 2001).

Evolution: Education and Outreach

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

57 human-written examples

We can talk about the NFL as an organization and how it obstructed progress on understanding CTE and how players could reduce their risk of suffering from it, but that sounds a lot like blaming a big bureaucratic billion dollar corporation for being a big bureaucratic billion dollar corporation.

Huffington Post

However, realistic fitness landscapes are far more complicated and thus obstruct deeper understanding from either analytic or numerical approaches.

Chinese Journal of Physics

It obstructs "the understanding of the historical rights and wrongs…as much as it illuminates them".

The Economist

Layers of bureaucratic red tape obstruct or dissuade non-healthcare personnel from entering and understanding the clinical environment.

Huffington Post

The essence of the book is about understanding the rationalization process and how it obstructs our ability to identify the early warning signs of trouble ahead.

Huffington Post

To deflect people from understanding what really caused the crisis and from seeing that they are obstructing the effort to reform the financial system they made this one up.

Huffington Post

As can be seen, visualization of active site residues along with transformed ligand not only helps in understanding their role in catalysis, but also highlights how a negatively charged glutamate residue can potentially obstruct the ATP binding site.

Database : the journal of biological databases and curation

And understanding.

The New Yorker

Just understanding".

The New York Times

Seek understanding.

The New York Times

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "obstruct understanding", ensure the subject performing the obstruction is clearly identified. For example, "Complex jargon can obstruct understanding of the key concepts."

Common error

Avoid pairing "obstruct understanding" with multiple abstract nouns, as this can create convoluted sentences. Instead of saying "The lack of clarity obstructed the understanding of the complex implications", consider "The unclear explanation made it difficult to understand the complex implications".

Linguistic Context

The phrase "obstruct understanding" functions as a verb phrase where "obstruct" acts as a transitive verb, taking "understanding" as its direct object. This indicates an action (obstructing) performed upon a concept (understanding). Ludwig confirms its usability.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

Science

33%

News & Media

33%

Formal & Business

33%

Less common in

Wiki

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Social Media

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "obstruct understanding" is a grammatically correct, though relatively infrequent, way to describe something that hinders comprehension. Ludwig indicates that this phrase is usable and correct. While it appears in various contexts, including science, news and media, and formal business settings, more common alternatives like "hinder comprehension" or "impede understanding" might be preferred for broader clarity. When using the phrase, ensure the obstructing element is clearly identified. Overall, this analysis provides a comprehensive guide to understanding and effectively using the phrase "obstruct understanding".

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

impair comprehension

Changes "understanding" to the synonymous "comprehension" and "obstruct" to the synonymous "impair".

hinder comprehension

Substitutes "obstruct" with "hinder", maintaining a similar meaning of impeding understanding.

impede understanding

Replaces "obstruct" with "impede", another synonym that implies slowing down or preventing understanding.

block comprehension

Uses "block" as a more direct synonym for "obstruct", suggesting a complete halt to understanding.

inhibit understanding

Replaces "obstruct" with "inhibit", implying a restriction or suppression of understanding.

stifle understanding

Changes "obstruct" to "stifle", suggesting a suppression of understanding, often through external forces.

cloud understanding

Uses "cloud" as a metaphor for "obstruct", indicating that understanding is made less clear or obscured.

muddy the waters of understanding

Employs a more figurative expression, where "muddy the waters" represents making understanding less clear or more confused.

prevent insight

Replaces "understanding" with "insight", shifting the focus to the ability to gain a deep or intuitive understanding, while using "prevent" as an alternative to "obstruct".

confuse the issue

Replaces "obstruct understanding" with a phrase indicating the introduction of confusion that then hinders understanding.

FAQs

What does it mean to "obstruct understanding"?

To "obstruct understanding" means to create difficulties or barriers that prevent someone from fully grasping or comprehending something. It implies that something is hindering the process of understanding.

What can I say instead of "obstruct understanding"?

You can use alternatives like "impair comprehension", "hinder comprehension", or "impede understanding" depending on the specific context.

Is "obstruct understanding" a common phrase?

While grammatically correct, "obstruct understanding" is not as common as some of its alternatives. Phrases like "hinder understanding" or "impair understanding" may be more frequently used.

How can complex language "obstruct understanding"?

Complex language, such as jargon or overly technical terms, can "obstruct understanding" by creating a barrier for those who are not familiar with the specific terminology or concepts being discussed. This can lead to confusion and a lack of comprehension.